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Workhorse Group
Workhorse Group Incorporated is an American manufacturing company based in Ohio, currently focused on manufacturing electrically powered delivery and utility vehicles. The company was founded in 1998 by investors who took over the production of General Motors' P30/P32 series stepvan and motorhome chassis. By 2005 they were taken over by Navistar International, which had been selling them diesel engines since before. Navistar then shuttered the plant in 2012, to cut costs after having suffered heavy losses. In March 2015 AMP Electric Vehicles took over Workhorse Custom Chassis, changing the company name to Workhorse Group Incorporated, and began offering a range of electrically powered delivery vans. History Workhorse Custom Chassis was formed in 1998 when GVW Group took over production and sales of General Motors’ popular P-series Stepvan chassis when GM dropped the product. GVW built a new 200,000 sq. ft factory in Union City for production, and based in based in Union City, Indiana, USA. Workhorse was sold to Navistar in 2005.http://www.gvwholdings.com/Companies In 2005, Navistar purchased the Workhorse company, a manufacturer of step-van and motor home chassis, to seemingly re-enter the delivery van market. It appeared that the new subsidiary might also benefit by its association with a company whose history from the 1930s into the '60s included the popular Metro van. For a short time Workhorse offered an integrated chassis-body product called MetroStar. In Sept. of 2012, Navistar announced the shut down of Workhorse and the closure of the plant in Union City, Indiana, USA in order to cut costs. AMP Electric Vehicles had been working with Workhorse and Navistar to develop an electric version of the Workhorse panel trucks. With Navistar's announcement to close down the Union City plant and divest of it, AMP stepped in and was able to purchase the factory and brand in 2012.http://workhorse.com/our-company/historyhttp://evworld.com/focus.cfm?cid=24 AMP has previously repowered sports cars (Pontiac Sky) and other vehicles as electric vehicles. Lineup Escort bus bodywork]] As of 2016, the company offers the familiar W62 chassis and a newer, narrow-tracked version called the W88. Their first product was the P-series, based on the Chevrolet/GMC P30-series stepvan/mobile home chassis. An earlier version was the W42 chassis, and they were also managerially involved with the construction of Navistar's eStar electric van, until it too was cancelled in early 2013. Workhorse also briefly offered an integrated chassis/body model called the MetroStar, hearkening back to the long-lived International Harvester Metro Van line. There were also the low-floor bus chassis (LF72), as well as a rear-engined recreational vehicle chassis called the UFO. Pickup truck In November 2016, Workhorse announced that they were working on an electrically powered pickup truck, called the W-15. North Carolina's Duke Energy has stated that it will buy 500 of the vehicles, and the city of Orlando is also interested. It is scheduled to have 460 horsepower and a battery range of 80 miles. A gasoline range extender supplies further range. Gallery References External Links *Workhorse webpage Category:Companies of the United States Category:Truck manufacturers of the United States Category:Companies founded in 1998 Category:Companies founded in 2012 Category:GVW Group Category:Electric vehicle manufacturers Category:Navistar International Category:General Motors